New in Cypress

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We are brand new to Geocashing...1 for 4 in 2 days of trying But we are already addicted! We really have no clue what we are doing but really want to learn! Any advise or help is greatly appreciated! I think we would like to join others on their adventures so we can learn from the pros...we have had a hard time knowing what to look for especially when the GPS says we are standing right on it! To say we feel a bit stupid is an understatement, but we did find our first one today in the rain It wasn't a hard one, but we sure were happy! Thanks in advance for your comments! Happy Labor day from a 20 yr Air Force Vet!

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First one is the hardest because you really don't know what you are looking for. My advice is read the description and the logs. Container size us VERY helpful. Sometimes the cache owner will actually tell you what the container is in the description. Also read the logs. A lot of times people will put hints in the logs when they find them (some are deliberate others are not). Over time you will learn to hone your "geosense," meaning learn to ask yourself, if I was hiding a small sides cache here, where would I put it?

Keep at it, you will get the hang of it. Also keep an eye on the metro mash up section. That is where planned caching trips are organized.

And if you ever end up on the west side of town give me a shout, I would be happy to make a run with you.

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First, welcome to the forum. Along with Eagle's great tips, another one is to go to a local geocaching event. You'll find we're a friendly bunch and there will be someone there that will show you around. I'd offer, but I'm way down in Sugar Land and I've got chores to do this weekend :-(

The containers will vary and are usually well hidden to keep from prying eyes. If in the woods, then you should look for unnatural wood piles, at the ends of fallen trees, in tree trunks. If by a Lamp Post, lift the skirt at the base. As mentioned as you do these, you'll become familiar with various types of hides, but there will always be ones that are bit baffling as well.

When starting out, you may also want to make sure the Difficulty rating is 2 or less so you're not getting too hard of hides.

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With each find you get that all important experience. Before you know it you'll be logging your 100th smiley. Early on, it can be a little frustrating at times, but it is as fun as you think!

I echo the events advice, go to an event ASAP after signing up for the premium membership and learning about pocket queries. The cypress area is quite active and there is a Park and Gab event each month. Get n the newsletter list from GC.com and get to some events and magic will happen.

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In addition to the above, keep in mind not all GPSr units will read the same. For that matter, the same unit can vary from day to day. So even though a GPSr says one is at zero feet, the cache could actually be anywhere within 20 or so feet and still be considered "good coordinates".

If you are using a phone to cache, give it time to settle down. I don't usually cache with my phone but I find it takes a little longer to react to movement than my GPSr.

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In addition to the above, keep in mind not all GPSr units will read the same. For that matter, the same unit can vary from day to day. So even though a GPSr says one is at zero feet, the cache could actually be anywhere within 20 or so feet and still be considered "good coordinates".

If you are using a phone to cache, give it time to settle down. I don't usually cache with my phone but I find it takes a little longer to react to movement than my GPSr.

Good comments and I'll add to that regarding the phones. The quality of the GPSr inside of cell phones will vary dramatically. Not sure if you use a smart phone at all. My understanding is the iPhone 3 was horrible for GPS coords while the iPhone 4S is ok to decent. I know my HTC Desire-Z/T-mobile G2 was Ok to decent and my Samsung Galaxy S III, which I recently switched to, is very accurate using both GPS and GLONASS sat systems, quick to react and doesn't bounce around even under thick foliage. I'd put it on par with my Garmin Oregon 400T. That said, I carry both with me.

Not only can the finders GPSr be off, but so can the hiders. Especially initial hiders with little experience finding and hiding caches. Sometimes they don't take the time to do some GPS averaging and if there phone / GPSr was off, they can be off. That said, as mentioned before as you build up Geosense, you can often take a look around and identify a number of potential hide spots.

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Thanks for all the comments and advise! How do we find out about other cachers or group events in our area? We live in Copperfield (Hwy 6 & West Rd. near 290) and would like to get to know others in our area. Is this even an appropriate question or do most of you just do this as an individual activity? Going to head out today to try and find the "defense" cache. Here's to good luck!

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First, welcome to the forum. Along with Eagle's great tips, another one is to go to a local geocaching event. You'll find we're a friendly bunch and there will be someone there that will show you around. I'd offer, but I'm way down in Sugar Land and I've got chores to do this weekend :-(

The containers will vary and are usually well hidden to keep from prying eyes. If in the woods, then you should look for unnatural wood piles, at the ends of fallen trees, in tree trunks. If by a Lamp Post, lift the skirt at the base. As mentioned as you do these, you'll become familiar with various types of hides, but there will always be ones that are bit baffling as well.

When starting out, you may also want to make sure the Difficulty rating is 2 or less so you're not getting too hard of hides.

TAZ427

We've tried to find "local events" but either I'm a forum idiot (which is probably accurate since I've never done it before) or it's not easy to navigate this stuff So what's the dummy proof way of finding local events? We are near Hwy 6 and West Road in the Copperfield subdivision (off 290). Thanks for the help!

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With each find you get that all important experience. Before you know it you'll be logging your 100th smiley. Early on, it can be a little frustrating at times, but it is as fun as you think!

I echo the events advice, go to an event ASAP after signing up for the premium membership and learning about pocket queries. The cypress area is quite active and there is a Park and Gab event each month. Get n the newsletter list from GC.com and get to some events and magic will happen.

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Go to the Your Profile tab at the top of the geocaching.com screen. Click on Account Details.

When the new screen comes up, in the next to bottom box on the left you'll see Your Validated E-Mail Addresses and E-Mail Preferences in it. Click edit and check the box that says: I want to receive fun and helpful emails from Geocaching.com. You'll get a newsletter each week and in it it will have all the nearby upcoming events.

Also, when you search for events on the gc.com map, look for this icon: Events are all over town, and many are regular, recurring events - often monthly.

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Another easy way to seek out events is from your GC.com "home page", on the right hand side of the page is an area that says "Search Options". The first clickable link is one to open a search for geocaches near your home location (you can also filter out one's you've already found). You will need to have listed home coordinates on you GC.com profile for this to work correctly. Clicking this opens up a search page of caches in your area. Then click twice on the words "Last Found" at the top of the right hand column. This will sort the list such that ones that haven't been found yet are at the top. Events (being in the future) will be at or near the top of the list -- or at least on the first two pages anyway.

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Thanks for all the comments and advise! How do we find out about other cachers or group events in our area? We live in Copperfield (Hwy 6 & West Rd. near 290) and would like to get to know others in our area. Is this even an appropriate question or do most of you just do this as an individual activity? Going to head out today to try and find the "defense" cache. Here's to good luck!

We live in Copperfield too. There are a few caches right in Copperfield. One of my favorites is How the Zebra Got His Stripes GC290F0. It is a puzzle cache, but a very easy one. Let me know if you need any help or if you want to go caching.

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I live off 529 as well and would be happy to help you. It has became the addiction for me as well.

I think like with a lot of programs, there is more than one way to skin a cat, so keep hunting and pecking when you are learning to use the geocaching website. The way I have found to quickly just find events is to click on the Play drop down menu and click on "Hide & Seek A Cache" then scroll down to the bottom. In the underlined wording at the bottom of the left column, click on "Advanced Search Options". Under Search for I select "All Event Type Caches" and if you put in your zip code it will show you most of them all over the city.

I have used yours and mine and generally get the same events, except the ones further north or south. I have not been active on this site, as in posting, but have been reading but have noticed that many people will talk about their events on here as well. Two have recently posted about their upcoming events on Thursday and Saturday.

I just started earlier this year and the events helped us to understand more and so many people were very nice about answering questions and helping us along the way.

BTW - did you find defense? I haven't gone after it yet but there are several right in that area that are easy enough.

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Another thought came to mind- Look at the past logs. Since you are newer to caching, I would suggest that until you get used what to look for you would want to mainly go for ones that do not have a recent DNF. Sometimes you may walk up and find one someone else didn't but for me, I wanted to feel a little more confident in finding ones and if someone else recently found it I thought my chances were more likely I would find it. I have gone back to caches I couldn't find when I first started and found them. It helped to have gone and found a lot more along the way.

Also on the logs, sometimes people will say just the right thing without giving it totally away that may help you find the cache. I am still getting better but I know that there are so many factors that may help you find it rather than just going up to some coordinates and walking up and finding a container. Keep in mind, the title might be even be a hint

You also will eventually figure out a style that some people hide their caches. Sometimes it is a series and all the caches are hidden in the same way so pay attention to that as well and don't think that just because I found this hide that every single one by that person will be the same.

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The Park and Gabs are held monthly and is a great way to meet geocachers in the Northwest Area. This event will be held at HWY 6 and 290 on October 22, between 6:00pm - 9:00pm. Northwest *ManofSteel73* aka Terry and his lovely wife Rhonda will be hosting.